WASHINGTON — Two lawyers for a 16-year-old charged with murder in the death of a Baltimore County police officer said on Thursday that the incident was “an extremely tragic accident” and are calling for the public release of the officer’s body camera footage to answer questions.

Dawnta Anthony Harris, 16, is accused of fatally running over Officer Amy Caprio, 29, on Monday in the Perry Hall community northeast of Baltimore. He’s been charged with first-degree murder, as have three other teens he had been with — Darrell Jaymar Ward, 15; Derrick Eugene Matthews, 16, and Eugene Robert Genius IV, 17. The latter three have also been charged with first-degree burglary; they were allegedly breaking into a nearby home.

Lawyer J. Wyndal Gordon said at a news conference Thursday that the case so far “generates a lot of questions that we don’t have answers to.”

Gordon pointed out that Caprio was called not for a report of a burglary, but of a suspicious vehicle. The fact that Harris was sitting in a stolen vehicle, and that the three other teens were supposedly committing a burglary, was all known to police “after the fact,” he said, and that at the moment Caprio blocked the Wrangler in, the situation “amounted to a traffic stop.” He also said the other three teens were nowhere near the vehicle, and that Caprio might not have known about them.

Matthews and Ward acknowledged committing the burglary, probable cause statements allege. Genius at first declined to give a statement but later objected to being charged with murder, saying he was in the house when the killing occurred, another statement said.

‘Get out of the car’

The lawyer cited a witness who said they heard Caprio quickly order Harris out of the vehicle, then shoot: “’Get out of the car get out of the car get out of the car’ and then pop.”

Related Stories

“We want to know why Officer Caprio found it necessary to draw her weapon on a 16-year-old child,” Gordon said. He characterized Harris’ actions as those of someone who was simply trying to get away from being shot at. “Just like the officer, this 16-year-old had to make a split-second decision. … He ducked and he closed his eyes and the car started to move forward.”

“It’s not lost on any of us” that an officer lost her life in the line of duty, Gordon said. “We just want answers.”

Gordon added that the officer who wrote the report wasn’t at the scene, and that no statements in the report attributed to Harris are direct quotes, but rather characterizations.

Lawyer Warren Brown was asked about a statement by Harris that he “drove at the officer,” and said that the state “has conceded that he’s ducking down … and just instinctively trying to get away.”

Brown also said Harris told the police in the same statement that he didn’t know the other three were committing burglaries — “they kept him in the dark deliberately” — and gave their names and addresses.

“If the state will release the bodycam footage, it will give us a better idea” of what happened, Brown said, and would help soothe the “frayed nerves and ugly emotions that are flowing.”

Gordon said he was confident the charges would be changed and would no longer include murder, once all the evidence is known.

‘This is my son’

Harris’ mother, Tanika Wilson, broke down several times while speaking about the case. “This is my son,” she said several times.

Harris had fled house arrest a week before the incident, and was still wearing a court-ordered ankle bracelet at the time of the incident. He had a court date last Friday, but didn’t show up. The prosecutor asked that he be detained, and she said she asked for that too, but the public defender wanted him released.

Wilson and Harris both got summonses to return to court Tuesday. The incident happened on Monday.

Wilson said her son had never been arrested before last December. She said he had fallen victim to “the environment, his peers. He made bad decisions.”

Regarding public outcry about the case, she said, “Everybody got so much to say. This situation is just terrible all around. My condolences to the officer … from the bottom of my heart.”

To Caprio’s family, Wilson said, “I’m really and truly sorry for this … for the actions that my son did.”

WASHINGTON — Montgomery County Fire & Rescue found more than 50 cats in an otherwise unoccupied home while responding to a fire around 1 p.m. Wednesday.

The cause of the fire — which was located in the basement of a one-story, single family home at 3402 Weller Road in Wheaton, Maryland — is still undetermined.

Public Information Officer Pete Piringer tweeted that the home had over $75,000 worth of damage from the fire, the house was condemned and the firefighters’ gear was contaminated.

While many cats were rescued by Montgomery County Fire & Rescue or escaped on their own, Piringer tweeted that responders were dealing with multiple cat fatalities with the assistance of Animal Services.

BALTIMORE (AP) — School discipline reform advocates have asked the Baltimore city schools police to adopt a youth-specific Miranda warning to let children know their legal rights.

The Baltimore Sun reports the Baltimore school board is currently accepting feedback on new school police policies under consideration before a vote next month.

Juvenile public defender Jenny Egan asked the school board to formulate a Miranda warning that includes developmentally appropriate language. Egan says the typical recitation heard in many a television procedural features clunky language that’s difficult for children to understand. Juvenile public defender Neeta Pal read commissioners a “youth-friendly” warning adopted in Seattle’s King County that simplifies the language.

City schools police chief Akil Hamm told the board he’d consult with the district’s legal office to discuss the possibility of a script change.

Firefighters responded to reports of a fire in a room on the top floor of a six story LaQuinta Inn and Suites a little after 6:30 a.m. on Hampton Park Boulevard, said Mark Brady, a spokesperson for the Prince George’s County Fire Department.

Brady said the sprinkler system was activated, which helped limit the fire, and firefighters were able to put the fire out once they arrived. In their search, firefighters found one person dead in the room.

Covey (1-1) allowed one run on six hits and struck out eight in his 20th game and 14th start — and longest outing — in the majors.

“It took a while to get it,” Covey said. “It’s just been a process for me.

“I learned a lot in Triple-A this year. I think I just became more comfortable with myself on the mound. I don’t fight myself anymore.”

The 26-year-old right-hander was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte on Saturday to take Carson Fulmer’s spot the in rotation after Fulmer was assigned to the farm club.

Covey made one start with Chicago earlier this season, losing on April 28 at Kansas City. He was 0-7 with a 7.71 ERA in 12 starts and six relief appearances in 2017.

In this one, Covey attacked the strike zone with “90 percent fastballs in the first five innings or so,” and then got a feel for his off-speed and breaking pitches the third time through the Orioles lineup.

“That was nice for him, his first career victory in pretty convincing fashion,” manager Rick Renteria said.

Jose Rondon added his first major league homer, a two-run shot in the seventh, as last-place Chicago rolled to its fifth win in seven games.

“It was a very impressive game, a nice game for us,” Rondon said through a translator. “Dylan got his first victory and for me it was my first homer. We were having fun with this game and it felt good.”

Baltimore, last in the AL East, has lost four of five overall and is 5-21 on the road.

Moncada’s shot to center in a four-run third inning put the White Sox ahead for good after Jace Peterson singled in Baltimore’s lone run in the second. Moncada’s seventh homer was his first since April 26, a stretch that included time on the disabled list with left hamstring tightness.

Engel, who entered hitting .183, added three singles and matched a career high with four hits. His drive to left in the fifth was his first homer since last September.

Alex Cobb (1-6) lasted just 3 2/3 innings, his shortest outing since April 19. The right-hander allowed six runs on eight hits.

“It’s the worst feeling when you’re out on the mound and you go through the checklist of adjustments that you normally make to get the ball to do what you want, and it’s still not doing it,” Cobb said.

Covey looked shaky only in the second, when Baltimore used two singles and a walk to take a 1-0 lead.

In the third, Tim Anderson walked and Engel singled with one out before Moncada connected on a 1-2 pitch from Cobb.

Chicago tacked on two more runs in the fourth on RBI singles by Yolmer Sanchez and Jose Abreu.

Engel’s shot with two outs in the in the fifth off Pedro Araujo made it 9-1. Rondon’s drive complete the scoring.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Orioles: DH/OF Mark Trumbo was unavailable on Wednesday night because of a sore right knee and is day-to-day. Manager Buck Showalter said Trumbo suffered the injury sliding into second base on Tuesday night. … Showalter said closer Zach Britton (right Achilles tendon) “feels good” after throwing 20 pitches in a one-inning simulated game on Tuesday. Britton is scheduled to toss a two-inning simulated game on Saturday before beginning a rehab assignment. … RHP Darren O’Day (hyperextended elbow) “didn’t feel good enough” to throw a side session on Wednesday, Showalter said.

White Sox: LF Leury Garcia left the game in the fifth inning with a left knee sprain after stealing third. He was replaced by Trayce Thompson. … DH Matt Davidson (stiff back) was a last-minute scratch before the game. Rondon took his spot. Renteria said both Garcia and Davidson would be re-evaluated on Thursday.

UP NEXT

Orioles right-hander Dylan Bundy (2-6, 4.70) faces White Sox righty Lucas Giolito (3-4, 6.42) in the finale of the four-game series on Thursday. Bundy has been roughed up in four of his last five starts, going 1-4. He was 1-2 with a 1.42 ERA after his first five outings. Giolito has allowed a combined five runs in 11 2/3 innings in his last two starts, both wins. His 34 walks allowed are most in the AL.

WASHINGTON — There’s no shortage of natural beauty almost anywhere you look when you visit the beach. From sunrise over the ocean to sunset as wild life moves around the coastal bays, the right spot in the right light can offer a breathtaking photograph or inspiration for a painting.

“It’s funny because there’s so much natural beauty in the area and so many artists that want to paint with the sea down here … but there really was nowhere to show their work,” said Rina Thaler, the executive director of the Ocean City Art League.

But that has changed in recent years, as coastal towns start to embrace the arts up and down the beach.

There’s something for everyone who carries an interest in art. Besides displays and galleries that allow artists to show off and sell their work, there’s also studio space available for artists from around the Eastern Shore to take advantage of, and classes for aspiring artists of all ages and all abilities.

“During the summer we run a four-week summer program (for kids),” Thaler says. “But we also have a lot of casual classes that are just one day. We supply all the materials, no experience needed, whether it’s in pottery or glass or fiber or painting. So people who are in Ocean City visiting the town, they might not want to go to the beach every day. They can come to the Art Center and get creative and go home with a piece of art.”

And it’s culminating with an increasing number of art shows as well. This year the town is holding its inaugural Art-X at Northside Park.

“We’re calling it Art-X: art explosion, art expression,” says Thaler. Featuring live music, film and other visual arts, it’ll turn the trail around the water at Northside Park into a big, outdoor art gallery Aug. 25-26.

“There will be about 80 artists in tents set up, and we’ll have two main stages that’ll have entertainment going all day long,” adds Thaler. “There will be workshops there, people can come in and get their hands dirty and make some art. Artists from all over the country (are) coming to sell their work. We’re going to have a craft beer garden, wine bar and kids’ activities.”

Bethany Beach holds its annual Seaside Craft Show on June 2, which allows local artists to sell their work. The Rehoboth Art League hosts its annual outdoor show over two the first two weekends in August at Henlopen Acres.

“We’re going to have a great time this weekend in Bethesda,” Gray told WTOP. “My band, we’re going to have a ball. It’s going to be like the biggest party you’ve ever been to. I can’t wait.”

Growing up in Canton, Ohio, she always knew she had a different voice from the other kids.

“When I was younger my voice was super high-pitched, so people were always knocking me and calling me names,,” Gray said. “I knew my voice was different. I didn’t think it was unique where I could do something with it until much later. But it was always a peculiar sound to it.”

Born Natalie McIntyre, she randomly discovered her stage name during a childhood bike ride.

“I was riding my bike, I fell down, I looked up and the mailbox said, ‘Macy Gray.’ That was it!” Gray said. “All through school, we would have to write stories and stuff and I would always name one of my characters ‘Macy Gray.’ Then when I joined this band in college, this rock band, everybody had to make up a name to be in the band, and so I said, ‘Macy Gray.’”

She studied screenwriting at the University of Southern California, where she also began writing songs for her musician friends. One fateful day, one of her colleagues failed to show up for a recording session, allowing Gray to step in studio and record her first real song.

“I was writing lyrics to songs, so I would write the lyrics and someone would come in and sing them. But she stopped showing up, so I had to sing the songs just to show everyone how the song went. So I already had little tapes with my voice on them, so that was the beginning.”

Promoting your band was a much different task in the era before social media.

“Back then, it was all like playing clubs, mailing your demo tape out to labels, going all over town and putting stickers of your band all over the place,” Gray said. “It was a different kind of hustle because there wasn’t all of that internet and Instagram and stuff like that.”

Soon, she was spotted at a nightclub in Los Angeles on the Sunset Strip.

“They had all these venues on Sunset that a lot of new bands would play because all the labels hang out there. Me and my band were always over there. One day, we played a space called the Roxy and a guy from Atlantic came. He was coming to see another band, but he came early and we were playing. He talked to me after and I got a record deal two weeks later.”

Wouldn’t you know it? Her debut studio album “On How Life Is” (1999) went multiplatinum, selling over three million copies on the strength of the single “I Try,” which owned the radio.

“I think lyrically everybody could relate,” Gray said. “Everybody has that situation or that relationship where they’re always talking about they’re going to leave it or they’re going to change it, and you wake up the next day and you’re not going nowhere.”

The song won a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and was also nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year, making Gray an international sensation.

“It changes everything,” Gray said. “Suddenly you’re on the radio and people know who you are. I had never been out of the States before, except to Canada. So I went all over the world and, I don’t know, it just opens (your eyes). You just see all of this stuff you never saw before.”

The worldwide fame got her cast in her first movie, “Training Day” (2001). Director Antoine Fuqua cast a number of musicians, including Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre, rubbing elbows with Hollywood movie stars like Ethan Hawke and Denzel Washington, who won the Oscar.

“I was a huge Denzel fan, so to be sitting there talking to him like he was my boy … that was wild! I wasn’t expecting that. I think it was my first movie and I had no intentions of becoming an actress. It’s different when you don’t put all that pressure on you like you want to be the best actress in the world, or when you go do it because it’s fun. … It was that kind of vibe for me. I was loose and that made it doable for me because it wasn’t all intense at the time.”

More film projects followed, starring in Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man” (2002), contributing to the soundtrack of “Chicago” (2002) and appearing in Netflix’s “Fuller House” (2016).

“I love acting, I just tour quite a bit with my music and I’m constantly making records in the studio, so that’s my No. 1. I’ve had to pass up on stuff because I’m doing stuff with my music.”

That focus on her music led to her upcoming tenth album “Ruby,” due out in September.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Alex Ovechkin lifted the Prince of Wales Trophy, spun around and set it back down on a table.

The rest of the Capitals joined him for a team photo after beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0 on Wednesday night in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final, a victory that sent Washington to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 20 years.

A decade of playoff frustration is fading fast.

“I think Ovie has been on a mission,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. “They wanted this game, no question.”

Ovechkin scored early and Andre Burakovsky added two second-period goals as the Caps continued to shed a label as postseason underachievers.

Braden Holtby stopped 29 shots for his second straight shutout and the Lightning, who led the NHL in goals during the regular season, failed to score in the last 159 minutes, 27 seconds of the series — a stretch of nearly eight periods.

Ovechkin, who had never advanced beyond the second round, scored 1:02 into the winner-take-all showdown he had described as probably the “biggest game in my life.”

“The first goal was very important,” Ovechkin said. “After that you could see we have all the momentum on our side. Holts was unstoppable today. He was special. Everybody was all in. Everybody was sacrificing their bodies. I think we all deserve the win.”

To earn a spot in the Stanley Cup Final, where they’ll play the Vegas Golden Knights, the Capitals beat the top-seeded Lightning three times on the road, improving to 8-2 away from home this postseason.

It’s Washington’s first Cup Final appearance since 1998, and the first during Ovechkin’s 13-year career.

“We played a great game,” defenseman John Carlson said. “We deserved to win this.”

Two games after being a healthy scratch for Game 5, Burakovsky became the 17th player to score a goal for Washington in the playoffs this year — four shy of the NHL record — when he beat Andrei Vasilevskiy on a breakaway at 8:59 of the second period.

The winger, who played two games in the first round against Columbus before sitting out 10 straight with an upper-body injury, added a breakaway goal to make it 3-0 heading into the last period.

Nicklas Backstrom had an empty-netter to complete the rout.

“What a game. What an experience. We had a lot of guys pitching in,” winger T.J. Oshie said. “The biggest guy of all had to be Holts. He played fantastic, back to back shutouts.”

Tampa Bay, which rebounded from losing the first two games at home to win three straight for a 3-2 series lead, had plenty of chances. A couple of shots clanged off the post, Yanni Gourde was unable to get his stick on a loose puck in front on an empty net and the game gradually slipped away.

Washington was the more physical team in evening the series with a bruising 3-0 victory in Game 6. They played with urgency from the start again Wednesday night and never let up.

Tampa Bay’s last goal in the series came 33 seconds into the second period of Game 5, which the Lightning went on to win 3-2.

“We’re here to win as team, no matter who gets the credit,” said Holtby, the fifth goalie to deliver a Game 7 shutout to clinch a spot in the Stanley Cup Final.

“I felt we could have won every game,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “We ran into a tough Washington team that was probably feeling the same thing, and once you get this far you’ve probably done some magical things on the way.”

It was the 33rd time in league history that a Game 7 was required to determine a Stanley Cup finalist. Home teams are 21-12 in those games.

Tampa Bay also played Game 7 in the Eastern Conference final in 2015, when they blanked the New York Rangers, and again two years ago, when they lost 2-1 to Pittsburgh.

Both of those deciding games were on the road. The Lightning had never lost a Game 7 at home before Wednesday night.

“It’s going to take a few days to digest this. It’s tough to sit here right now and think of positive things and how it was a pretty great season,” Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. “It doesn’t seem that way when you have this group — and we’ve been to this position before — and you can’t find a way to give yourself a chance a win. We thought we had that group. It’s just an empty feeling right now.”

Notes: Ovechkin and Backstrom made their 11th career Game 7 appearance, one shy of Boston’s Zdeno Chara for the most among active NHL players. In addition to Chara, only five other players in NHL history have appeared in more Game 7s: Patrick Roy (13), Scott Stevens (13), Glenn Anderson (12), Ken Daneyko (12) and Stephane Yelle (12). … Evgeny Kuznetsov’s assist on Ovechkin’s early goal extended his points streak to 10 games. … Vasilevskiy made 19 saves. The Lightning outshot the Capitals (29-23) for the first time in the series.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Alex Ovechkin scored early and Andre Burakovsky added two second-period goals to help the Washington Capitals put a decade of playoff frustration behind them with a 4-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final Wednesday night.

Braden Holtby stopped 29 shots for his second straight shutout and the Lightning, who led the NHL in goals during the regular season, failed to score in the last 159 minutes, 27 seconds — a stretch of nearly eight periods.

Ovechkin, who had never played a team that advanced beyond the second round, scored 1:02 into the winner-take-all showdown he had described as probably the “biggest game in my life.”

Nicklas Backstrom had an empty-netter to complete the rout.

To earn a spot in the Stanley Cup Final, where they’ll play the Vegas Golden Knights, the Capitals beat the top-seeded Lightning three times on the road, improving to 8-2 away from home this postseason.

It’s Washington’s first Cup Final appearance since 1998, and the first during Ovechkin’s 13-year career.

Two games after being a healthy scratch for Game 5, Burakovsky became the 17th player to score a goal for Washington in the playoffs this year — four shy of the NHL record — when he beat Andrei Vasilevskiy on a breakaway at 8:59 of the second period.

The winger, who played two games in the first round against Columbus before sitting out 10 straight with an upper-body injury, added a breakaway goal to make it 3-0 heading into the last period.

Tampa Bay, which rebounded from losing the first two games at home to win straight three straight for a 3-2 series lead, had plenty of chances. A couple of shots clanged off the post, Yanni Gourde was unable to get his stick on a loose puck in front on an empty net and the game gradually slipped away.

It was the 33rd time in league history that a Game 7 was required to determine a Stanley Cup finalist. Home teams are 21-12 in those games.

Tampa Bay also played Game 7 in the Eastern Conference final in 2015, when they blanked the New York Rangers, and again two years ago, when they lost 2-1 to Pittsburgh.

Both of those deciding games were on the road. The Lightning had never lost a Game 7 at home before Wednesday night.

Notes: Ovechkin and Backstrom made their 11th career Game 7 appearance, one shy of Boston’s Zdeno Chara for the most among active NHL players. In addition to Chara, only five other players in NHL history have appeared in more Game 7s: Patrick Roy (13), Scott Stevens (13), Glenn Anderson (12), Ken Daneyko (12) and Stephane Yelle (12). … Evgeny Kuznetsov’s assist on Ovechkin’s early goal extended his points streak to 10 games. … Vasilevskiy made 19 saves. The Lightning outshot the Capitals (29-23) for the first time in the series.

We aim to lead in each practice and area of law we work in. Coming from in-depth understanding of the law and the industry, capitalizing on extensive experience, we provide hands-on advice that speaks the language of our client’s business and/or legal issue.